


A Holiday

by citizen-of-the-multiverse (threenimonsongallifrey)



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 09:24:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17159438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/threenimonsongallifrey/pseuds/citizen-of-the-multiverse
Summary: The Doctor, Liv, and Helen finally take a well deserved holiday.  But of course nothing quite goes to plan.





	A Holiday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [human_nature (AllyHR)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllyHR/gifts).



> For the 2018 Classic Who/EU Secret Santa exchange

For once it seemed like the Doctor was actually able to pilot the TARDIS. Both Liv and Helen were skeptical of the “let’s go somewhere relaxing” thing having seen these promises before, but it actually seemed like the Doctor was right. After opening the TARDIS doors, Helen could immediately smell the fresh, salty sea air and was pleasantly surprised to find the TARDIS parked on a white sand beach just a few hundred meters from the clear, blue water.

“Is this an actual holiday?” Helen asked, putting a hand to her eyes in face of the glaring sun. “No alien monsters, killer robots, or actual demons?”

The Doctor was already digging through his never ending pockets in search of sunglasses, “Of course this is a real holiday. I think we’re all in need of a break for a few days.”

“Yeah but you’re incapable of going somewhere and not immediately attracting trouble,” Liv said.

“Liv Chenka, that is incredibly unfair. I don’t attract trouble, I actively poke my nose into it.”

That response earned a giggle from Helen and even a snicker from Liv who had previously pledged not to laugh at any of the Doctor’s stupid jokes.

“So where are we then? The Caribbean? Mediterranean?” Helen asked, taking a few steps back to admire the view.

The Doctor shook his head, “Contrary to your opinion, there are more beaches than those on Earth. This is the planet Envov: vacation hotspot of the 26th century. Full of beaches, restaurants, nightclubs, and plenty of relaxation!”

“Never heard of it,” Liv said.

“Well no, it was turned into a prison colony during the Draconian-Mim Wars and later incinerated.”

“Oh lovely.”

The Doctor looked at his watch, “But that isn’t for at least another twenty years.”

“I’ll be marking my calendar.”

“Look I promise this is all perfectly safe,” the Doctor gestured around to the beach, “I was here a few lifetimes ago around this time and absolutely nothing went wrong. Look, I’ll go get some beach chairs and you two can walk up to the cabin.” The Doctor pointed off the beach to a series of steps leading to a sturdy looking log cabin.

“... Are we just breaking into a random cabin? Because that seems like a good way to get arrested, not a good way to start a holiday,” Helen said.

“Don’t worry. I have a timeshare at the cabin so no one will be around.”

Liv raised a finger and looked extremely confused, “Sorry but you– universal adventurer, Time Lord who ran away, defeater of alien menances– have a timeshare on a cabin on some fancy beach planet?!”

The Doctor shrugged, “It seemed like a good investment at the time.” And with that he ducked back in the TARDIS, leaving Helen and Liv standing alone on the beach.

Liv turned to Helen, “Even after all this time, he still finds ways to surprise me.”

Helen laughed, “I don’t think the Doctor does consistency very well.”

With that the two of them marched up a long series of steps to the cabin and by the time they reached the top, both of them were out of breath.

“Of course he couldn’t park at the top of the steps,” Helen said, taking a pause to regain her breath.

“Well think of it this way– when something inevitably chases us away, it’ll be a lot easier to run down the steps than up them.”

Helen frowned, “You’re really not good at this whole relaxation thing.”

“In fairness, last time he took us on a holiday, I was carried into the literal fires of hell. I think caution is a little bit more than warranted,” Liv said.

Helen shook her head but took a few steps forward to take a closer look at the cabin, “Well I think it looks like a lovely place.” The cabin looked to be small but cozy, complete with a tin roof, a little chimney in the back, and a patio and rocking chairs. It certainly looked like a nice place to have a quiet holiday. She and Liv walked onto the patio, hearing the floorboards creak under them and Helen breathed in the calming scent of pine which was probably artificially emitted judging by the lack of pine trees but nevertheless, it was nice. “See, it’s just a normal cabin,” Helen said.

Liv shrugged and opened the door. She was about to take a step in but paused, “Uhh,” she pointed inside.

Helen glanced into the cabin and saw a blonde-haired man in a cricket uniform reading in an armchair. He looked up at the two women. “Hello?” he said, obviously confused.

“Sorry, is this your cabin?” Liv asked.

The stranger stood up, “Yes, I believe so. My friend and I have been here for a few days now.”

Liv groaned, “Must have landed in the wrong place. Our friend’s always getting us lost like this. Sorry to bother you.”

He moved closer to the door, “Oh no trouble at all. In fact I was getting kind of bored so I’d be happy to help you find where you’re staying.”

“You really don’t have to…” Helen trailed off as she looked closer at the stranger, “Is that celery on your lapel?”

He looked down as if he forgot it was there, “Yes, comes in handy in a tight spot.”

“Does it though?” Liv asked. 

The stranger looked a bit puzzled at the question, as if trying to come up with an instance where celery would be helpful, “It’s a nice snack,” he shrugged.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation as the three of them stared at each other. “Alright, well I guess we’ll be off then,” Helen said, pulling Liv’s arm to turn away.

“Well if you need anything, feel free to ask. I’m the Doctor by the way.” Liv and Helen stared at each other, mouths slightly ajar and without another word they took off back down the stars.

~ ~ ~

The Doctor finally found the beach chairs which were buried in one of the TARDISes many storage closets under a rotting Monopoly board and a box of cat pins. Exactly where they should be, the Doctor thought as he unsuccessfully tried to navigate through the small police box doors holding three chairs and a bag with towels and sunscreen. “Ow,” the Doctor whispered to himself as he knocked his shoulder against the doorframe. Eventually, the Doctor gave up and merely tossed each chair down into the sand. “That’ll do,” he said, stepping out of the TARDIS and began to unfold each chair.

“What are you doing?” the Doctor heard a woman say from behind. Hm, a familiar woman too if he dare say. The Doctor turned around and saw with shock, a young brunette wearing a modest Edwardian style swimsuit.

“Nyssa!” the Doctor couldn’t help but exclaim.

She looked taken aback, “How do you know my name? And what were you doing in the TARDIS?”

The Doctor glanced back at the TARDIS, “Ah. That’s a bit of an awkward point isn’t it?” He paused, his brain whirling to come up with a plausible explanation of his being here. But instead of an explanation, he only said, “I’m not a very good pilot, am I?”

Nyssa looked confused, “Wait are you–”

Fortunately it seemed that Helen and Liv both chose their moment to join the Doctor on the beach. They were both gesturing to the TARDIS so the Doctor did what he always did to avoid his problems– went back inside the TARDIS before Nyssa could utter another word that would disrupt the timeline. Helen and Liv joined him moments later back inside the TARDIS leaving Nyssa confused outside.

Once the shut the doors, Liv had only one thing to say, “Celery?”

“It was a phase,” the Doctor said, rushing back to the control column. He pushed a few buttons and the familiar groaning of dematerialization filled the TARDIS, “Right. Ready for holiday attempt number two?”

“What do you bet that we’ll end up in the middle of a warzone?” Liv whispered into Helen’s ear as the Doctor continued to dance around the controls.

~ ~ ~

Back on the planet Envov, the Doctor and Nyssa stood on the beach. “The strangest thing just happened,” Nyssa began.

The Doctor meanwhile reached down to pick up three discarded beach chairs, “Funny, I have chairs like this back in the TARDIS…”


End file.
